South Korean officials track China over cyber attack

Employees of the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) inspect a server to recover it at the company’s main office in Seoul after a cyber attack.
Photo: Reuters

Officials say a cyber attack against South Korean broadcasters and banks came from China, but the identity of the hackers cannot be confirmed.

Park Jae-Moon, director of network policy at South Korea’s communications regulator, says unidentified hackers used a Chinese IP address to contact servers of the six affected organisations and plant the malware which attacked their computers.

Immediate suspicion for yesterday’s attack that targeted three major TV broadcasters – KBS, MBC, YTN, and two banks Shinhan and Nonghyup – and an internet service provider, focused on North Korea.

Pyongyang had been blamed for previous cyber attacks in 2009 and 2011 that had also targeted financial institutions and government agencies.

Cyber-security provider Ahnlab fell as much as 4.8 per cent after the online security firm said its servers were used to spread malicious codes in the cyber attack, according to Reuters.

Seoul shares trimmed opening gains on Thursday morning as a cyber security scare and tensions with North Korea checked demand.

Cyber crime expert Nigel Phair told ABC Newsradio that tracking the IP address may not lead to the attackers. The attribution of any cyber attack is very difficult...there’s a high level of skill is required," he said.

He added: They won’t reveal their technical ability in one go...and alot would be based on how South Korea responds and how long it takes for their systems to get back."